Aishiteru For Always
by Kaoru's Koishii
Summary: Whitney Havok is just a normal girl living in a small town. But what happens when she wakes up the next day in the Ouran High School Host Club? Romance/humor ensue as Whitney becomes a hostess and deals with her feelings for a certain redhead twin.KaoruxO
1. A Meeting With the Host Club

A/N: WOOT! First chapter! anywho, yeah...I hope you all like it! PMs and Reviews would be greatly appreciated. But please be **BRUTALLY HONEST!! **I would rather get a bunch of "This sucks!"comments so I can fix it than a bunch of fake "Oh my, this is amazing! you're awesome"s. Yeah...oh, and I know the name of the series is bad...I'm horrible at names :P Anyways, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: As much as I would LOVE to own Ouran High School Host Club, I am not, nor have I ever been, Bisco Hatori. If I were, I'd be in the series and kaoru would be mine ^_^ But I might be persuaded to share him with you if you asked politely :P**

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It was a cool day in a small town in New York. Whitney was walking home from the high school, thankful that, for once, it wasn't freezing cold and snowing buckets in her frigid hometown. The wind was blowing her black hair in her face. Her usually curly locks were now pin straight, tucked underneath a brown knit cap. As a result of the nice weather, the drab, long sleeved shirts and full-length jeans had been packed away. She walked home wearing a pair of dark brown capris, a red tee and a black vest. Her black vans were patterned with skulls over a bandana print and they hit the pavement with a satisfying thud as she quickened her pace in an effort to get home faster.

She finally made it home, flopping down on her fluffy bed and pulling out an iPod. "Ugh. I'm SO glad I'm home." She sighed, flipping through her Top Rated list on her iPod. "Yay!"she squealed quietly as the opening bars to Bokura no Love Style came on. The song instantly brightened her day. If the tall raven haired girl could describe herself in two sentences, it would be these: 1.) She was obsessed with music and 2.) she was also obsessed with anime and manga, specifically Ouran High School Host Club.

She jumped off the bed and danced across the room to her bookshelf, pulling a volume of Ouran off the shelf. This one had her favorite chapter in it, the one that explained how her favorite characters, Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, came to join the Host Club. She never got tired of reading about them. Especially Kaoru. She couldn't give you a specific reason as to why he was preferred over his identical brother, but whatever the reason, Kaoru was her favorite host in the entire series.

She sat back down on the bed, settling into the black sheets, and began reading. Eventually, the call of the warm mattress was too much for her and she fell asleep.

When she woke up, she was in a very bright room. On a couch? Where was her bed? She sat up in her tired stupor and looked around, blinking. Why did this room look so familiar? "Where am I?" she wondered aloud. "You're in the Third Music Room." came a dark voice from behind her. "Oh, Thanks!" she chirped. Then it hit her. Why did her speech sound weird? It most definitely wasn't English that she was speaking. Then she realized that it was Japanese. "Am I speaking Japanese?" she asked, speaking to the voice again. "Yes." he replied. "Usually, people who live in Japan speak Japanese." She turned around to face the owner of the voice. Behind her sat a dark haired boy. He wore a pair of glasses and was writing something in a black notebook, barely even looking at her to answer all of her questions. Whitney just stared at him. "Is there something wrong?" he asked her. She just stared again, lifting herself off the couch.

"KYOUYA!!" she yelled, hugging the poor boy to death. He looked at her like she was crazy. "Um…why are you hugging me?" "I'd venture to say that's the best reception Kyouya's ever had." a lanky blonde said, walking up to the tall girl who was now squeezing Kyouya to death. "I see that you've recovered nicely." he said, smiling. "Tamaki-senpai!!" she said, dropping Kyouya to the floor so that she could go hug the Host Club's "King". Tamaki hugged her happily.

"At last! Someone hugs me without calling me a pervert!" Tamaki yelled excitedly. "Tama-chan! Who are you hugging?" asked a cute voice. The girl turned to face him. "Hani-senpai!" she shouted, picking him up and swinging him around. "I'm so glad to meet you all!" she exclaimed. She was so excited that she was unusually giddy. She felt like she might burst. She gently placed the small boy down and patted his stuffed rabbit on the head. "Where's Mori-senpai?" she asked, inquiring the location of the small boy's cousin turned bodyguard. "Takashi's getting me cake!" the boy said, happily anticipating his sweet confection. "Mitsukuni." came a voice from behind them. The tall, dark haired boy walked in and was promptly hugged by the strange girl.

"So, Just who are you, my little princess?" Tamaki asked her. She blushed a little. "Oh, I'm so sorry. You must think I'm insane." she laughed. "My name is Whitney. And I'm a HUGE fan of you all!" she said. They all blanched. "Are you…a…f-fangirl?" Tamaki asked, horrified. She sweatdropped. "Absolutely not! I'm not like Renge!" she said. They sighed in relief. "Now, how do you know us? I've never seen you around Ouran." Tamaki continued. "Oh, that's easy. You're all the characters of my favorite manga." she replied.

"What?!" they yelled. Apparently, she had thrown the room into a panic. "I wasn't aware that there was a serialization of our club meetings. Why aren't we being paid for this?" Kyouya mused, walking to his laptop. Tamaki was being emo and growing mushrooms in the corner. "Senpai, what's wrong?" Whitney asked him. "I'm…fictitious?" he asked her, obviously saddened. "Well, technically in my world, you are. But here, you're real!" she smiled at the forlorn boy. He instantly brightened. "Okay! Well then, since you're here, Whitney-hime, what do you say to attending the Host Club?" he asked. She beamed. "Sure!" Kyouya then approached her with an appointment book. "So then, who would you like to--"

Just then, the door burst open, revealing two redhead boys and a brunette boy who looked oddly like a girl. Whitney just stood there, staring. Standing in front of her was the boy who frequented her dreams.

"Hey, Tono! Sorry, we're late!"

"Yeah, Haruhi had to decided what electives she was taking."

**"We persuaded her into taking Conversational French."**

The two Hitachiin brothers walked into the Third Music Room, Haruhi in tow. As soon as they stepped in, they noticed the girl standing there, looking quite shocked. "Uh, I mean, him. We persuaded _**him**_." Hikaru said, trying to cover over their mistake. The girl laughed. "It's okay, Hikaru. I know Haruhi's secret." The elder twin glared at this new girl. "How? And wait a minute, how do you know that I'm Hikaru? I could be Kaoru?" He sounded curious, and yet, irritated at the same time.

This time, she replied seriously. "There's no way that you're Kaoru." she said. "Oh, really?" came another voice, similar, but different at the same time. "Would you be willing to bet on that?" said one of the twins. She nodded slowly, but surely. "Okay, We'll play the which one is Hikaru game. If you're wrong, you're to be our toy and you have to play a punishment game." She smirked. "And if I win?" "Well, what is it that you want?" asked the other twin. "Can I decide at a later time?" she asked. They thought for a minute and then nodded. Kyouya made a note of the bet in his notebook, on the off chance that this new girl might win. The twins put on their hats and spun around. "Now which one is Hikaru? And which one is Kaoru?" Whitney didn't even blink. "You're Hikaru." she said, pointing at the one on her left. Haruhi burst through the middle of the twins, interrupting the game for the moment. "Guys, do you really think it's fair to this girl to test her as soon as she walks through the door?" she asked them, sounding a little annoyed. "Haruhi!" Whitney shouted, hugging the poor girl to death. "Sorry. I think you're awesome! But don't worry about me, Haruhi." she smiled. "It's completely fair. I could tell them apart easily. Like I said, the one on the left is Hikaru and the one on the right i-is…"she blushed and then fainted. The twins stood there stunned. Not only at the fact that she was indeed correct, Hikaru was on the left, but also at the fact that Kaoru had this effect on her. Kyouya just sighed.

"Mori-senpai? Would you be so kind as to place her back on the couch? We can't have the guests jumping over her." Mori nodded, picking up the girl and placing her gently on a red, plushy couch in the room adjoining the Host Club. Careful not to wake her, he placed Hani's bunny blanket over her, tucking her in gently, so as not to disturb her peaceful sleep. He turned off the light and closed the door. But right after he left, the door cracked open, revealing a slinking figure. Kaoru leaned over the couch, staring at the dreaming girl. "I wonder why she fainted when she was about to say my name." he thought, brushing a stray strand hair out of her face. "Hmm." he shrugged, leaving the room to go take his place in the front of the doorway, awaiting the customers to arrival.


	2. It's Not a Dream?

A/N: If you're wondering why the format is different, I'm trying this out on a suggestion. Let me know what you think. :) Thanks for the Review, Celedeen Takarona. It was awesome! And now Ch. 2!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ouran High School Host Club. If I did, the twins would be the main characters and Kaoru would be mine :P**

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"Whitney-chan." came a voice, drifting through the air. Whitney grumbled in her sleep. She didn't want to be bothered.

"Whitney-chan." cam the voice, again.

She turned and groaned a bit before she rolled over and fell off the couch, tangled in a mess of blankets. That woke her up.

"Ow." she complained. She looked up to see Kaoru standing there, trying to hide his laugh behind a smirk. She got up, rubbing her back.

"Have a nice nap?" he asked, no longer able to suppress his laughter.

"Why am I still in the same dream?." she mumbled.

"Dream? What are you talking about? This isn't a dream." Kaoru said, confused by the odd girl.

"Of course it is! You aren't real where I'm from!" she retorted. "People go to Anime cons dressed up like you and your brother."

He looked at her like he was thoroughly disturbed by what she had said. Nonetheless, he knew he was real and was going to defend it to the death.

"

Think about it. If this were a dream, why would you be rubbing your back right now. You can't hurt yourself in dreams."

"That can't be true." she said, shaking her head.

He walked out of the room, Whitney following him and found Kyouya.

"I told you she wouldn't believe me." he said.

"It was worth a shot. You're the only one who got a reaction out of her." Kyouya replied, looking at a now blushing Whitney. She forgot why she had been sleeping.

"Anyways, I did a background check on you and what you told us before you decided to faint, if you don't mind." he said to the girl.

"It would appear that there is indeed a series about our club procedures. There's even an anime about it. Although, I'm not sure how they're getting their information, she wasn't lying about that. Apparently, it's fairly popular. However, you were also in my data base. Whitney Havok, a second-year who is now assigned to Class 2-A." he said, coolly.

"I'm what? That can't be right. I'm enrolled at a High School in New York. Not here." she said, looking at the registration list that was now pulled up on Kyouya's laptop.

"According to this, your parents decided that it would be good for you to spend a few years here at Ouran Academy. I don't know why they didn't tell you that you were enrolled here, but it seems that they gave specific instructions for you to be flown here while you were asleep and then dropped off in this specific room." he explained. When Kyouya said something, even something as crazy as this, there was no arguing. It just sounded logical.

"Okay, so I'm enrolled here. And I got to this room by some weird circumstances. And I'm in Class 2-A?" she asked.

Kyouya nodded, confirming what she had just said.

"Oh, that sucks!" she said, huffing a little for emphasis.

They looked at her shocked.

"What is so bad about that, Whitney-hime? We'll be in class together! Mommy, Daddy and our new daughter!" Tamaki exclaimed, going off on one of his tangents again.

"That's exactly the problem! I know enough about you all to know that you, Tamaki-senpai, are going to go all "parental" on me. By the way, you need to stop that. Haruhi really doesn't like being called your daughter. And I also know that Kyouya is going to thoroughly ignore you and me." she said, calmly.

Kyouya looked like he was expecting this outburst from the raven haired girl. But Tamaki was upset.

"You…don't…want to be my…daughter, Haruhi?" he cried. "And you, too, Whitney?" he was thoroughly distraught. The club just left him in his self-pity and dealt with it.

"Well, to be honest, not really. But I will do it if it makes you happy, I guess." Whitney sighed, looking at the forlorn Host Club King.

"Yay!! Whitney-hime! Mon Amie! Mon Amie!" Tamaki said, jumping up and down, hugging the poor girl to death.

"Tamaki-senpai! Let me go! I can't breath!" she yelled.

He dropped her gently, still hugging her gently. When he stopped his hugging attack, he looked at her for a minute.

"Now, do you know where you're supposed to be living, Whitney-hime?" he asked her seriously.

She shook her head no. Tamaki started spinning around, roses suddenly appearing in the frame.

"Well, then, you will stay with me in the second Suou Mansion. We'll have sleepovers and make popcorn and watch movies and…"

Tamaki continued on his rant about how great it would be or her to live with him. Whitney looked at Kyouya, silently begging for help.

"Tamaki, as much as Whitney would love that, I'm afraid that her parents have already set up a place for her to live in." he said, flatly. "It's right on the way home for Hani-senpai. I'm sure that she doesn't have the number for her chauffeur yet. Do you have a cell phone, Whitney?" he asked.

She nodded, producing the sleek, black phone. She then reached into her jean pockets, looking for her iPod as well.

"Um…guys? Where is my iPod?" she asked.

"**Over here, Whitney-chan."**

She turned to see the twins attached to her iPod.

"Ahhhh! Give me back my baby!" she freaked slightly.

"**Sorry, Whitney-chan. We were wondering what you were listening to when you got here, so we kind of stole your 'baby'" **they said, smirking at the term of endearment and something else that they found humorous.

They tossed it back to her.

"Thanks."

"Are you ready to go, Whit-chan?" Hani asked. "The limo is here."

She nodded and let Hani and Mori lead her out of the Third Music Room.

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**A/N: So, I know that it was confusing. I'm trying to emphasize that this is not a dream. There will not be a dream ending. I promise! :P It's an "actually happening to me" kind of story. So she really is at Ouran and she really did faint in front of Kaoru, etc., etc. Hopefully 3 will be out soon! Please review!**


	3. A Proposition from the Host Club

**A/N: And so, Chapter 3 came to be. I know it's a little early to post this since I just put up a chapter last night, but I felt the need to continue it, so itjust happened. I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for the reviewsand critiques, Celedeen Takanora. Again, reviews and PMs would be greatly appreciated.**

**Kaoru: Koishii-chan! *hugs Koishii*  
**

**Koishii: Kaoru-kun!! *hugs Kaoru***

**Kaoru: Koishii, why am I here?**

**Koishii: Um...good question...oh, to do the disclaimer!**

**Kaoru: Okay! There are three reasons why Koishii-chan doesn't own Ouran High School Host Club: 1.) Her name is not Bisco Hatori, 2.) Hikaru and I are not the main characters and 3.) She isn't my girlfriend.**

**Koishii: Kaoru-kun!!**

**Kaoru:In the series! She isn't my girlfriend in the series!!**

**Koishii: Thank you! Now, on to the story!**

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"Okay, Whit-chan! This is it!" Hani said, excitedly pointing out of the tinted window to the limo at her "house."

Whitney just looked at it in shock. The word "house" was a complete and total understatement. It was more like a mansion. She wouldn't have been surprised to find out that it had it's own zip code. The side was made of stone, making the house look overall very charming. There were tall, spiraling turrets attached to the main building. And attached to the back of the house was a large, marble balcony.

"Whoa." the raven haired girl mumbled. "Are you sure that we've got the right house?"

"Yeah." Mori said, lifting her out of the limo and placing her gently on the ground.

"Um…it's so…big." she said, still in her state of shock.

Hani nodded at her.

"Yup. It's almost as big as Kyo-chan's house." he chirped.

"Wow." she breathed.

"Um…thanks for the ride." she said, turning to smile at the two seniors.

"No problem! Now remember, if you need anything, my house is down the street to the left. And Hika-chan and Kao-chan live to opposite direction. See you tomorrow, Whit-chan!"And with that, Hani and Mori drove off, leaving Whitney to find her way around the large, foreboding house.

**The Next Day**

The next day at school, Whitney looked rather tired. She was currently running into walls, too tired to do anything other than say "Ow" and move on. She didn't even notice that she was being followed.

"Mommy? What is wrong with our daughter?" Tamaki asked Kyouya, who was being forced to accompany Tamaki on his espionage mission.

"Well, _Daddy_, based on the medical training that I've received, I would say that she's suffering from a distressing REM cycle last night."

"Can you speak in Japanese? I don't understand medical terms." Tamaki said, feeling frustrated. He really wanted to help his new daughter. She didn't seem the type to run into walls like that.

"In other words, she's tired." Kyouya replied, dryly.

"Aha! Well, then, we're going to have to fix that!" Tamaki said, pulling out his cell phone out o the pocket of his lavender blazer.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Get to the main hallway immediately!" Tamaki whisper-yelled.

The two redheaded twins were there in a flash.

"What is it, Tono?" they asked, seriously questioning if this was counted as an "emergency" that required their presence.

"Go catch Whitney-chan!" he said. "We all know that you two are the fastest members of the Host Club and that you two specialize in kidnapping people."

The twins smirked.

"Right, Boss!"

And no sooner had the words left their mouths, they were running down the hallway, looking like a streaky blur to the two junior boys that they'd left behind.

"Ow" Whitney said, rubbing her now bruising head. She was exhausted. But she didn't have much time to think about it, because she was suddenly picked up by two running blurs and transported to the Third Music Room.

"Now, Whitney-chan, why are you running into walls so much? And how did you get so tired? Didn't you sleep last night?"

Tamaki was in an "I'm-concerned-about-you-so-I'm-going-to-ask-you-a-bunch-of-questions-until-I'm-satisfied-that-you-are-okay" mood. Whitney just looked at him like he had sprouted three heads.

"One question at a time, Senpai." she said, yawning.

"I usually run into walls, but I'm doing so more frequently because I'm tired. I'm tired because my house is huge and after the "staff" showed me where my room was, I had to go back to the front of the house to get something and got lost for three hours looking for my room again. I slept for about two hours last night." she replied.

"Kyouya, look up Whitney's house on your laptop and see if you can make a map for her!" Tamaki ordered, trying to help his daughter.

"Whitney-chan, unfortunately, you're going to have to try and get through class until…" Tamaki started, until he turned around and noticed the girl, curled up on the couch.

Apparently, this was becoming a hobby of hers, sleeping on their couch. But she was just to cute to wake up. So the four hosts quietly crept out of the room and let her sleep until the Host Club.

**Later**

Whitney blinked, rubbing her eyes. She was back in the Third Music Room.

"Whitney! You're okay! Oh, my darling daughter is better!" Tamaki started hugging her again.

"Tamaki! **Personal Space!!" the girl yelled.**

"Well, now that you're awake, we have a proposition for you, Whitney-chan." Tamaki continued.

"Don't do it, Whitney-chan!" Haruhi warned.

"You see, we've never had a female host and I think it will be good for business if we expanded our clients to include the bored males of this school, as well. I know that you just met us yesterday, but you are the only girl in this school who fully understands each host and therefore won't be distracted by their antics during the Club." Kyouya started.

"Are you asking me to be in the Host Club?" Whitney asked, incredulous.

"Yes, we are. You would be the first female host. Of course, this would only be offered for a limited time. Maybe about a month or so. Unfortunately, we've got all of the types covered, so we'd have to put you with another host. We've decided that, should you accept, we'll place you with the twins, since you blush easily, especially when Kaoru is in a ten foot radius of you. " Kyouya continued, watching as Whitney's complexion turned from her usual tawny color to resemble that of a strawberry.

"So, would you like to take us up on the offer?" Kyouya asked her.

She thought for a minute and then nodded.

"You bet!"


	4. My First Day as a Host!

**A/N:** YAY! Ch. 4! Ch. 4! I'm sooooo excited! Thanks to **Gatamigo** for being my beta. Also, thanks to **Alystarryn** and **KreativeKathryn** because without having read your story, I wouldn't be writing this and yeah...this is the most fun I've had in a while...:P Oh, and also to **Alystarryn **because you suggested Gatamigo as a beta. ^_^ And **Celedeen Takarona** for being so nice and reviewing every chapter. You all officially rock!! And now, without any further thank yous or speaking on my part, I give you Ch. 4!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club or Kaoru Hitachiin (much to my dismay) no matter what anyone might tell you.**

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Whitney blinked, looking at the doors to the Host Club.

"I can't BELIEVE that I agreed to do this. I mean, I know that this way I get to spend time with all the hosts without being a creepy fangirl, but being partnered with the TWINS??" she said to herself softly.

"And what's wrong-"

"-with being partnered with-"

"_-the twins?" _

Whitney spun around only to be pulled into the arms of the twins in question.

"N-nothing." she said, blushing.

'_Please don't stutter, Please don't stutter.' _the girl thought to herself. She was by no means a fangirl, but, with the exception of just having woken up from a nap or being incredibly tired, she was usually unable to control her speech and the color of her face when Kaoru was around. And at the moment, her face was turning a very dark crimson . Kaoru was staring right into her grey eyes, smirking at her.

"Hm? What's so funny, Kaoru?" Hikaru asked, wondering why his brother had smirked at the girl in his arms.

"Huh? Oh, nothing. It just seems that I've turned Whitney into a tomato again." he said.

If it was possible, she blushed even more.

"Shut up! Do I really look like a tomato?" she questioned.

Hikaru spun her around, looking at her face.

"Is there anything that is more red than a tomato, Kaoru?" he asked, looking at his twin.

"Yes." replied the younger redhead.

"What is it?"

"Whitney-chan, of course!" The two boys burst into a boisterous laughter.

"Guys?" Whitney said, trying to get their attention.

The laughter continued.

"Guys?" a little louder, this time.

And again, she was ignored.

"_GUYS!"_she yelled, stamping her foot for emphasis.

They turned to face her.

"Look, if you keep making fun of me every time you make me blush, I'm going to have to tell Kyouya that I'm turning down his offer. You'll be laughing every five seconds." she reasoned with them.

They just wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked her through the doors of the Host Club to go get ready for the guests.

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The Host Club was now open for business and was in full swing. The guests were responding well to the new addition. Whitney was sitting there in a black Lolita dress, looking very much like a doll. Today's theme was Black and White. It seems that Renge had become obsessed with the new "Uki Doki Memorial" game, which was in black and white. Which explained the rather annoyed looking Kyouya, who was wearing all white except for a grey scarf. He was severely ticked that Renge kept finding excuses to dress him up like Miyabi.

The other hosts were a little less angry than the Shadow King. Mori, Tamaki and Hikaru were dressed in black, like Whitney, however, they didn't look like children's toys. The black complimented each of them in odd ways, making them appear a little more mischievous than usual. Joining Kyouya in the white group was Hani, Haruhi and Kaoru. The reasoning for the latter three being in this group was that they were all more "innocent" than the other hosts, so they were to wear a color that reflected their innocence.

As far as being a host, Whitney was a little overwhelmed. It turned out that many of the boys at Ouran Academy would rather not go to the Host Club, regardless of whether their host was a girl or not. There were only a handful of boys sitting in front of her, mixed in with a number of girls. Whether it was intended or not, there were a LOT more girls requesting the Hitachiin twins. The reason? The twins had a new 'toy' whom they delighted in embarrassing. For the moment, they had scrapped their 'Brotherly Love' acts in favor of a new game called 'Who Can Make Whitney Turn the Brightest Shade of Red'. And it was a tie.

"Whitney, why did you join the Host Club?" a brunette girl asked. She felt it absolutely necessary to know everything about anyone involved with the elite club.

"Well-"

"She joined the club at our request." Hikaru answered for her.

Whitney just looked at him like he was crazy.

"I what now?"

"Oh, Whitney, you're so cute when you're pretending not to know anything." Kaoru said, nuzzling her neck.

The girl started blushing profusely, adding a point to Kaoru's score.

"We couldn't let Tono and Kyouya-senpai take up all of your time, could we?" Hikaru added, hugging her.

And this continued the entire club. Hikaru would say something to embarrass Whitney, making the onyx-haired girl blush. If Whitney blushed, then Kaoru was hugging her, whining that it wasn't fair that Hikaru was making her blush more than he was. This made Whitney blush even more. Eventually, she got to the point where the twins weren't even sure there was a color to describe her complexion.

Eventually, the club hours ended, ending the twins' harassment of Whitney. She was relieved that she was finally going to get a break from her little blush fest. She walked out of the ornate school and waited in the parking lot for her limo. And then it started to rain.

The change in weather didn't bother Whitney in the slightest. She loved the rain. However, she was a little annoyed that she had called for a ride home at least twenty minutes ago and they still weren't there. She started to walk in what she thought was the general direction of her house, hoping that she was right. It wouldn't be good for her to get lost .

Whitney had been walking for the past hour and was no closer to her house than when she started. In fact, she had been walking in very large circles around the school.

"Maybe it's this way…" she thought out loud to herself.

She was just getting hopelessly lost, and the rain didn't look like it was going to let up any time soon. It came down in relentless sheets, blocking any view she would have of the buildings in front of her.

_Beep_

"What was that?"

The tall girl whirled around to see a limo pull up behind her.

'_Finally!'_ she yelled in her head.

But then, someone got out.

"Ugh. I'm going to be stuck here forever!" Whitney whined softly.

The figure wasn't going towards the house in front of it though. And they weren't closing the door to the limo. Instead, it walked towards her, carrying an umbrella.

Frightened, the girl prepared to run away from the shadow person. She would rather not be kidnapped.

But just as she was about to run, she was grabbed by the arm and placed under an umbrella.

"Where do you think you're going, Whitney-chan?" came the low voice.

She looked up and came face to face with Kaoru.

"Come on! Hikaru is waiting in the limo."

They walked back to the car silently. He let her climb in first and then slid into the seat next to Hikaru.

"Thank you!" Whitney said, rather happy that she was no longer wandering in the rain.

"Yeah, well, we figured that you were lost when we watched you circle the school for the third time." Hikaru said, smirking.

"What? I circled the school for an hour?!?!" she asked. She couldn't believe her stupidity.

The twins nodded.

"We decided we'd come get you since your house is on the way to ours anyways." Kaoru explained.

"What Kaoru means is HE decided we should come get you. I thought it'd be funny if we followed you and freak you out. I was kind of hoping that you'd run from him when he got out of the car." Hikaru clarified.

Whitney blushed lightly. She had blushed too much that day to make her face any darker than a light pink.

"Hikaru! Why did you have to tell her that?" Kaoru asked.

"I'm sorry, Kaoru. I wasn't aware that you'd be so embarrassed by it. I'll make sure that I don't tell Whitney anything else that you say about her." Hikaru said, hugging his brother close.

"Guys, seriously? Do you think the act will work on me? I've been reading about them for an insane amount of time." Whitney said, rolling her eyes.

They laughed.

"Well, it was worth a try. You're one of the few girls who doesn't do that stupid 'Kya!' thing when we act like that." Hikaru said.

"Yeah. Now we know that we can be ourselves around you." Kaoru continued.

Just then, the limo pulled up in front of her house.

"Thanks for the ride, guys." Whitney said politely.

Just as she was about to close the door, she heard

"Whitney-chan? If you want, you can just ride home with us every night."

She looked at the person who had just said that to her.

Hikaru looked stunned that Kaoru had just offered to take the girl with them every night.

"I mean, you don't have to, but I figured if we were all going to be a group at the Host Club, we should probably get to know each other better." Kaoru stumbled over his word choice, trying to cover up the fact that he had just invited the girl into their car every night.

She just smiled at them.

"I would love that."

They exchanged goodbyes and the limo drove off, leaving a confused Whitney to sort out the days events.


	5. The Party and a Plan

I am SOOOOOOO sorry about this. I feel AWFUL for not writing for like...over a month. :( Thank you to all the people who have reviewed or messaged me. I will try to never do this again. So, here is chapter 5. I hope you like it. I think it might be a bit short, but I thought if I went on longer I'd be rambling....

**DISCLAIMER: As much as I wish I owned Ouran High School Host Club or the Hitachiin Twins, I sadly do not. They belong to Bisco Hatori and she probably parties with them frequently. I'm slightly jealous.**

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The suns rays shone into Whitney's bedroom window as she got ready for school. She hated the ugly yellow dress that was the girl's uniform, but she dealt with it. It was called a uniform for a reason. So she pulled the hideous monstrosity over her head and zipped it up, walking to her huge closet in the process to look for some shoes. It took her a little while to find two pairs that matched. The closet was too big for her. She would have to talk to somebody about downsizing it.

"Or better yet, downsizing the entire house." She thought out loud.

She finished brushing her hair, styling it with a hair comb on either side. After she was done, she went downstairs, got a quick cup of coffee, and was out the door.

As she walked into Class 2-A, she heard a loud voice yelling about something.

"Why'd we put my daughter with those two doppelgangers?"

Great, Tamaki was on another "family" rant.

"I've already explained this, Tamaki. Kaoru gets the best reaction out of her. We put her with the twins because they were the best choice."

Tamaki sighed in resignation as Whitney entered the class.

"Whitney!" he exclaimed, rushing over to hug her.

"Tamaki, get off of me!" she pushed him to the side, walking straight over to Kyouya.

"Why are you two discussing me when I'm not here?" she asked in a low, dangerous tone.

Whitney was not a morning person. And she hated people talking about her. It made her nervous. Putting those two things together was not a good combination. She looked like she could have strangled both of the boys sitting in front of her.

"We weren't discussing you. We were discussing the Host Club in its entirety." Kyouya said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Well, would you please keep him from screaming about me? I could hear him from down the hallway! Who knows who else heard him?"

Kyouya smirked.

"Tamaki is not my problem. I'm not here to baby-sit him. If you have a problem with the Host Club King, take it up with him."

Whitney was fuming, but decided that she would rather not argue with the Shadow King about this and just stomped to her seat.

She didn't speak with them all day. As she thought about it, there was no reason to be mad at either of them, but she wasn't going to let them know that. She was more frustrated that she had told them she doesn't like being talked about and they refused to listen to her.

She was glad that it was almost time for the Host Club to open. She could get away from the bumbling king and his "baby-sitter", as she had now titled Kyouya. As she walked into the doors, she was pounced on by a certain pair of twins.

"_Whitney_!" they shouted. They looked at her face. Nothing

"Whitney, why aren't you blushing?" Hikaru asked.

"Are you over me?" Kaoru said, pretending to be hurt.

She just pointed at the two juniors behind her and walked into the room to go get changed into her outfit.

"_What did you DO, Tono_?"

"What? I didn't do anything! I'm still trying to figure out why she's angry with Daddy." He whined.

"She doesn't like you talking about her." Kyouya said, overseeing the cosplay of the day.

Whitney emerged from the back dressing room, holding an empty costume bag over her shoulder.

"Hey guys, where are the pants to my outfit?" she asked. She had heard Kyouya earlier, so she decided she get over the attitude and stop being angry.

"What are you talking about? There is nothing missing on that outfit." Kyouya said as he re-adjusted the bow tie that was around his neck.

"What?!?!" Okay, the part where she was going to forgive them was so over.

"What do you mean there's nothing missing? This is a shirt!" she said, pointing at the shiny gold thing she was wearing.

"No, that is a dress. What's the matter with it?" Kyouya continued to be indifferent to the young girl's rage.

"Could you have made it ANY shorter?" she yelled.

"You should be greatful that we didn't take Renge's advice and dress like the characters from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Then you'd be a bunny." Kyouya smirked as the girl got a little more upset. "But anyways, the twins are in charge of costuming. If you have a complaint, take it up with them."

The tawny girl now turned her attention to her two "partners".

"What. is. WRONG. with you two?" she growled dangerously.

"Hey! You're a reflection of us." Hikaru replied, indifferent.

"Yeah! We don't want to host with a nun." Kaoru added.

"_Basically, longer dresses bore us. And we were excited that we actually got to design a girl's outfit. Haruhi doesn't like it when we make her look feminine. Oh, and the dress you're wearing for the party is at our discretion. We'll do with it what we want_." they ended, each wrapping an arm around their mirror image's shoulder.

"Yeah, well...wait, what party?" she asked.

"The party that we'll be having in a week or so, Whitney. The entire reason we're dressed like this is to advertise that party." Kyouya answered, dryly.

"Is there going to be dancing at this party?" she asked, sounding a little nervous.

"_Aww! Is Whitney-chan afraid of dancing_?" the twins taunted from behind.

"_Don't worry. We'll help you._" they said, laughing at her.

"Look, I CAN dance. But...not formal dancing. I tap dance and do hip-hop...THAT kind of dancing." she said, trying to save herself from being 'the host that can't dance'.

"Really, Whit-chan! I want to see!" Hani said, excited.

"Well...maybe later, Hani-senpai. I'll have to have you over to my house sometime. I can show you then, okay?" she replied, smiling at the blonde senior.

"Hontou? We want to go!" the twins yelled.

Mori just nodded in agreement.

"I, too, would like to go to Whitney's house." Tamaki said, launching into another of his rants about how great this was going to be and other things that weren't interesting to the other hosts.

"Look, you can all come if Tamaki stops ranting." Whitney said, laughing.

"Tono! Shut up!" the twins started shaking him.

"Yeah! We want to go to Whit-chan's!" Hani said.

"How did we end up planning a day-trip to my house?" she asked herself out loud. Nonetheless, she was excited about her new friends coming over.

"I'm sorry to stop you all from your attempts to shut up Tamaki, but we've got a club to open in one minute." Kyouya said, clearing his throat.

They all stopped shaking Tamaki and raced over to their opening places.

"Irraishimase!"


	6. One, Two, Three

A/N: I'm sorry that I take forever to write chapters!! *begs for readers forgiveness* Anywho, this is chapter six and I am very excited about it! **HUGE **thanks is due to **Gatamigo** for without him this chapter would not be what it is. Words can't express how awesome he is ^^ And now...on to the new chapter!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club nor do I own the twins Hitachiin (as much as I would like to). Also, I do not own the song "Kiss ~Kaerimichi no Love Song~" It is owned by the members of Tegomass, both of whom are amazing...**

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The Host Club had opened a little less than an hour ago and Whitney was insanely bored. Her mind began to wander as a customer she and the twins were entertaining had started to relate some story or another about the latest gossip at the school. She honestly couldn't understand these girls obsession with scandal, but she at least tried to appear remotely interested.

"Whitney-chan"

She was pulled out of her thoughts by a silky voice calling her name. She turned to face Kaoru, her face turning a pretty shade of pink.

"Whitney-chan, what are you thinking about? Anyone can tell that you're not paying attention."

She had been thinking about how she was going to get through the dance. It seemed pointless for her to go if she couldn't dance. And on top of that, she didn't want to embarrass herself in front of all the other hosts, especially Kaoru. She began to blush more.

"Aww, was Whitney-chan thinking about me?" he whispered in her ear, just loud enough for Hikaru to hear.

"What?! Whit-chan, That's not fair! Don't think about Kaoru _all_ the time. I want to be in your thoughts, too." Hikaru interjected, swinging into full blown host mode.

The girls sitting across from them were holding their breath. They waited to see what would happen next.

"_**We both want to share your thoughts equally**__._" they said in a tone that suggested that it was a secret.

Several of the girls began to "Kya!" as the twins embraced the now embarrassed girl.

"_**So, what were you thinking about?**_"

Her sentence was interrupted as the sound of a motor turning and maniacal laughter filled the room.

"Oh no." Hikaru groaned.

"It's her again." Kaoru said, sounding mildly irritated.

Whitney just sat there wide-eyed_. _

"_This better not be who I think it's going to be." _she thought as the motor stopped, revealing a large tiered platform. Standing on the top was a medium-sized girl with large brown eyes and long sandy brown hair which was kept back with a humongous pink ribbon. She smoothed out her uniform as she stepped off the platform, staring at the twins.

"Hey guys! Did you all miss me?" she said in her obnoxious, high-pitched voice.

"_Oh no…ANYONE but her…she annoys me so much!" _Whitney thought, still transfixed on the oddity in the room like a deer caught in headlights.

"Hello! I'm Renge Hoshikuji. I'm the Lady Manager of the Host Club! You must be our newest host." she said, smiling in a creepy way.

"_Okay, Whitney. Time to put your acting skills to work_." she thought as she extended a hand to Renge.

"Hi! It's…nice to meet you. I'm Whitney." Whitney managed to say, hoping the expression on her face was a smile and not one of being in pain.

"It's nice to meet you, as well. I see my Kyouya has put you with the twins. He's so smart, isn't he?" Renge began to daydream while the trio of hosts were just staring at her like she had three heads.

"_Help me._"Whitney shouted in her head, hoping someone would come to her rescue and save her from the crazy otaku girl in front of her.

"Renge-chan! Renge-chan! Do you want to come sit with me and Usa-chan?" Hani asked, bounding over to where Whitney and the twins were hosting.

Renge shook her head.

"Sorry, Hani. There are a few questions I must ask our newest host. I want to make sure that she's not trying to ruin the Host Club." she said, causing the pygmy-sized senior to tear up.

"_Well, I still owe Hani-senpai one for trying_." Whitney thought to herself.

"Look, Renge. I can assure you that I'm not out to ruin the Host Club. It's really quite all right if you go with Hani-senpai. I'm sure it will make him and Usa-chan happy." she said, trying to get the girl to take a hint.

"Nope." Renge flopped down on the couch, weaseling her way in between Kaoru and Whitney.

"So, Whitney, let's take a look at your character and see if we can make any revisions."

Renge pulled out a clipboard with a stack of papers attached to it.

"Whitney-chan's fine just the way she is, Renge." Kaoru mumbled. Renge ignored him and began to go down the sheet, entitled "Character Flaws".

"Let's see. Well, you don't look Japanese, that's a minus." She checked off a box on the sheet.

"_**Renge, YOU'RE not even Japanese**__._" the twins pointed out

"But you're grades are pretty good. Not nearly as good as Kyouya's, but not bad. You must be the "Nerdy" type." she marked a different box this time.

"Not on your life am I the 'Nerdy' type." Whitney mumbled.

"What was that?" Renge asked.

"Oh, nothing." Whitney tried to cover up her previous comment. Even if she disliked the brunette in front of her, Renge was still the "manager", so it couldn't hurt to flatter her, right?

Renge took no note of the girl's remark and proceeded to check off multiple boxes on her sheet. She then pulled out a giant calendar.

"Now, it says on my day planner that the Host Club will be having a dance soon. How are your social skills?"

"Okay, I guess. I can't imagine Kyouya allowing me to be a host if I had poor social skills." Whitney answered. She hoped that this interview would be over soon.

Renge marked this down and proceeded.

"And your dancing skills?"

Whitney groaned. She had been happy that Renge was there for one reason and that was interrupting just as she was going to tell the twins her dilemma with the dancing. But now, there was nothing to interject.

"...they're okay…if I'm not moving…" she sighed.

Renge just stared at her, wide-eyed.

"WHAT?!?! You can't dance??" she screeched.

Whitney shook her head.

"Um…well, not ballroom."

Renge jumped up from to couch, pointing at Whitney in rage.

"What's wrong with you? Are you trying to ruin my precious Kyouya's business? You had a lot of flaws already, but this is just unacceptable."

"Renge, I couldn't ballroom dance either when I started as a host." Haruhi interjected. Whitney looked at her gratefully. Haruhi nodded in acknowledgment and looked to Renge for an explanation.

"That's okay, Haruhi. You didn't have that many problems to begin with." Renge smiled at Haruhi in that odd way of hers.

She turned her attention back to the raven in front of her.

"You, however, will not get off so easily if you ruin anything for this club. Got it?" Her voice sounding almost threatening.

Whitney just nodded her head.

"Good. Well, it was nice meeting you. Bye everyone!" Renge said, returning to her cheerful self. She stepped onto the spinning pedestal in the middle of the room and exited through the floor.

Whitney sighed in relief now that the brunette creep was gone. But it was short lived when she remembered that she now had to find a dance instructor.

"Great. What now? I have to find a teacher and learn to ballroom dance in a few weeks." she sighed.

The twins laughed at her. She looked over and glared at each one in turn.

"What's so funny?" she asked, sulking. She hated being laughed at.

"_**You. We can teach you how to dance, Whit-chan**_." the twins exclaimed.

"Really?"

Her eyes lit up as she looked at the twins hopefully. She wouldn't have to worry about being the graceless host.

The twins nodded their heads.

"_**Meet us here during lunch tomorrow. We'll help you.**_"they agreed, flashing their Cheshire cat smiles.

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The next day, the door to the Third Music Room was opened. Or it would've been had it not been locked. Whitney tried the handle one more time, sliding down the door when it didn't give way. And so she sat on the cool marble floor, took out her iPod and sang along while she waited for the twins to arrive.

She had just started getting into it when she was interrupted by something nudging her. She looked up to see Kaoru standing there, smiling. She jumped to her feet and put away the iPod.

"You're a good singer, Whit-chan." he said as he opened the door to the music room. She blushed lightly.

"Thank you, Kaoru-kun."

He laughed.

"What?"

"You called me 'Kaoru-kun'" he said, continuing to laugh.

She waited for him to stop laughing at her, realizing that he was minus his other half in the process.

"Where's Hikaru?" she asked.

"What, he doesn't get '-kun' added to his name, too?" the redhead boy teased.

She blushed more .

"Hikaru made up some lame excuse so that he didn't have to come. Something about forgetting the costumes for the club at home and having to go get them. I don't know what he's talking about. They're right here." he said, holding up eight garment bags.

"So, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to be your teacher, Whit-chan." he smirked.

"_Oh, great! The ONE host I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of is my teacher_." she thought as he set up a small disc player. He pushed the play button and music began to drift through the room.

"Tegomass?" Whitney asked curiously. She would have never pegged the twins for this kind of music.

Kaoru smiled shyly and nodded.

"Yeah. Hikaru helped me with the cd."

Whitney grinned back at him. "Well, you two have good taste in music. I love this song!" She began to sing along, Kaoru joining her subconsciously.

" _Futarikiri no kouen kaerimichi no shiteiseki  
(on the way home from the park, just the two of us_)  
_Itsumo yori hashaideru kimi wo mitsume kiitemita  
(Watching you being more happy than usual, I asked)_

'_Moshimo ashita sekai ga naku nattara dou suru?'  
("What would you do if the world disappears tomorrow?")  
Kimi wa nani mo iwazu ni boku no ude wo gyutoo shita ne  
(You didn't say anything and just held me arm tighter. Hey)_

_Nee kocchi wo muiteite  
(Hey, look this way to me)  
__Kuchibiru ga chikasugite doki doki tomaranai_"  
(_Our lips are so close my heart won't stop thumping_)

Suddenly, they realized what they were singing and stopped.

"_Great. I'm singing a love song to him. He probably thinks I'm some weird fangirl now._" she sighed inwardly. She figured she probably had been a fangirl when she first came to Ouran but now that she had spent more time with him, she was beginning to really like Kaoru, not just based on physical appearance but for who he was and how she felt when she was with him.

"Um…maybe we should start teaching you how to dance. If I don't, Renge is going to kill us both." Kaoru said, pulling Whitney from her thoughts. The girl just nodded at him.

"Okay, Kaoru-_kun_." She giggled as she waited for further instruction.

"Okay, Whit-chan, to start off, you have to get in waltz position." he said, walking over to her.

She looked at him with a blank stare.

"I guess I'm going to have to put you in waltz position myself." he sighed.

He picked up her hand and placed it on his shoulder, her facing turning a bright pink. He took hold of her other hand, lacing her fingers between his as he placed his other hand on her back.

"Now, I'm going to step forward with my left foot, so you move your right foot back." he instructed.

She nodded and they began to dance.

*_Donna kimi mo donna toki mo uketomeru kara  
_(_No matter how you act, no matter when it is, I'll always keep hold of you_)  
_Moshimo kokoro ga kizutsuite namida koboreru toki wa  
(If you're hurt and tears fall_)

_Sekaijuu wo teki ni shitemo kimi wo mamoru yo  
(Even if everyone around the world turns into enemies, I'll always protect you_)  
_I love you  
Kotoba wa iranai yo  
(I don't need any words_)

_kimi ga saigo no kissu  
(Your kiss is my last_)  
_Itsuamdemo  
(forever)_*

"One, two, three. One, two, three." Kaoru started counting and then started laughing at Whitney again.

"What?" she asked, upset. "_I knew I'd be awful at this. I probably messed it up._"

"Whitney, you can't look at your feet the entire time. The boys you dance with will be upset." Kaoru playfully chided. He grabbed her chin and lifted her head up so that her grey eyes met his golden ones.

"Don't take your eyes off me." he whispered to her.

She blushed and nodded.

*Kaoru's POV*

"Whitney, you can't look at your feet the entire time. The boys you dance with will be upset." Kaoru teased.

"_Boys like me, for example. I'm getting a little jealous of the floor." _he thought.

When she made no move to look up, he lifted her chin, gazing into her eyes.

"Don't take your eyes off me." he whispered, turning her into a tomato again.

Once again, he grasped her hand, pulling her just a tad closer to him in the process and the dancing resumed.

Kaoru let his mind wander as they danced, soon finding himself thinking about the girl in his arms. He had known her for such a short time and yet, he was beginning to feel…close to her. It was odd to him to want to spend time with people who weren't Hikaru or Haruhi.

"_But neither of them make me feel the same as she does_." he thought.

"_Wait. What am I saying? She's a toy! That's all she'll ever be." _he reasoned and decided to refocus on dancing.

He noticed that Whitney was struggling not to look at her feet, but she was keeping her promise and continued to gaze into his eyes. She tripped on her feet and had to stop.

"It's okay, Whit-chan. Try again." Kaoru encouraged.

*_Ah mujaki na sugao no mama kimi wa iu  
_(_Ah~ with your innocent face you say_)  
"_Nee, obaachan ni nattemo kissu shite kureru no?"  
(_"_Hey, are you still going to kiss me when I turn into a grandma?_")

_Nee, sono toki ni wa boku datte onaji da yo  
(Hey, when that time comes, it's the same for me)  
__Tsunaida te hanashi wa shinai kara  
_(_I will never let go of your hand_)*

* Whitney POV*

The dancing began again. However, this time, she fell over. She sat up and rubbed her head.

"Ow." she whined, opening her eyes to find a shocked Kaoru. The way she had fallen had pulled him on top of her and now their faces were centimeters apart, causing him to blush hard. He scrambled to get off of her, extending a hand to help her up.

"Um…I think you need a little more practice." he mumbled.

*_Donna kimi mo donna toki mo uketomerukara  
(No matter how you act, no matter when it is, I'll always keep hold of you)  
__Moshimo kokoro ga kizutuite namida koboreru toki wa  
(If you're hurt and tears fall)_

_Sekaijuu wo teki ni shitemo kimi wo mamoru yo  
(Even if everyone around the world turns into enemies, I'll always protect you)  
__I love you  
__Kotoba wa iranai yo  
(I don't need any words.)_

_Kimi ga saigo no kissu  
(Your kiss is my last)  
__Itsumademo  
(forever)_*

She started to laugh.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Your face is as red as mine." she giggled.

He blushed a little more, but couldn't help but tease her back..

"Not quite. You've invented your own color."

They continued to laugh until the door open, revealing a very out of breath Hikaru.

"Hey. Sorry I'm late. Did Whitney learn how to dance yet?" he asked.

Kaoru stopped laughing and walked over to his brother.

"She's going to need a little more work."

She joined the twins, feigning offense.

"Hey! I'm not that bad. I bet you I can get it right this time." she said, stomping her foot for emphasis.

"_**Are you sure you want to bet against us, Whit-chan? If you don't win, you have to play a punishment game.**_**" **they reminded her.

She nodded her head slowly. She felt up to the challenge.

"Okay, let's see how you do. Hikaru, do you want to dance with her this time?" Kaoru asked politely. The redhead nodded at his other half and walked over to Whitney.

Hikaru took her hand and led her on the makeshift dance floor. He bowed gallantly, adding his own twist to it and then they assumed the waltz position and started to dance.

"_I wish I was still dancing with Kaoru. But I don't want to fail him. I've got to dance correctly_." Whitney thought as she began to watch her feet again.

"Whit-chan, stop looking at your feet! Look at his eyes, remember?" Kaoru coached from across the room.

"You told her to look at your eyes, Kaoru? No wonder she couldn't dance. You probably distracted her." Hikaru teased, trying to get a reaction out of his dance partner.

No sooner had he finished his sentence, she began to mess up the dance, stepping on his foot and tripping on her own. Hikaru stopped her from even trying anymore.

"Sorry, Whit-chan, but Kaoru's right. You need to practice more." he said, not unkindly.

"We'll just practice during the club today. It's not like Kyouya-senpai will mind. It does benefit the club." Kaoru suggested.

Whitney nodded her head in agreement.

"I would appreciate that. Thanks, Kaoru-kun. And I'm sorry if I hurt you, Hikaru." she walked over to get her things.

"See you guys later!" she said, shutting the door behind her.

Hikaru just turned and smirked at his twin in a curious way.

"Kaoru-kun?" he questioned.

Kaoru blushed.

"Stop it, Hikaru. You're embarrassing me." Kaoru blushed.

"_Fantastic! Now he's going to mock me_."

Hikaru laughed.

"Oh my. I leave you two alone for two seconds and the terms of endearment begin. Could it be that our little toy may no longer be a toy, Kaoru?"

"_You have no idea…_"

Just thinking about Hikaru dancing with her drove Kaoru crazy. He realized that he couldn't dissuade himself of his feelings any longer. He was beginning to like Whitney a little more than he knew he should. But Hikaru didn't need to know that, did he?

"Whatever. Let's just go, okay?" Kaoru said nonchalantly, hoping his brother wouldn't notice that he was evading the question. He gathered his books and the disc player and headed for the door.

"Okay, Kaoru-_kun_." Hikaru teased as he started down the hall.

Kaoru turned to lock the door to the Third Music Room.

"What have I gotten myself into?" he sighed quietly.

"Oi, Kaoru! You coming?" Hikaru called from up ahead.

Kaoru shook his head, attempting to dislodge the thoughts that had been running through his mind. He looked to his brother and smiled.

"Yeah, Hikaru. Wait up."


	7. Drowning in Dresses

It had been a week since Whitney's first dance lesson with Kaoru. She had been practicing everyday since then and all of the hosts had been helping her. Today, her dance partner was Mori and Hani was sitting in the window watching for errors.

"Good, Whit-chan. You've gotten much better." Hani said to the younger girl in front of him.

"Ah" Mori agreed.

Whitney smiled.

"Thanks! But that's because of the help you and the others have been giving me."

The song ended as did the dance and she decided to hang out with Hani and Mori for a little longer. She had a reprieve from hosting for the week to practice her dancing, so the twins had reverted to hosting without her for the time being.

Whitney walked with Hani and Mori over to a small table in the corner of the room. The taller senior brought his small cousin a piece of cake and the three proceeded to talk about anything and everything.

"Hey, Whit-chan? Did Hika-chan and Kao-chan show you your dress yet?" Hani questioned.

She shook her head.

"No, not yet. I hadn't really thought about it." She replied.

"_Although, I probably should have. Knowing those two, it'll end up being super short."_

Hani just smiled at her.

"I bet the dress they made will be really pretty, Whit-chan." he said in that cute way of his.

Mori simply nodded. Whitney wasn't sure if he was actually part of the conversation or if he was just sitting there as an accessory to Hani. But she smiled at them both.

"I think so, too, Hani-senpai."

"Hey, Whit-chan. What if Usa-chan gets dressed up, too?" Hani asked, eyes sparkling.

She laughed at the cute blonde sitting across from her.

"That's a great idea."

The three of them continued to talk until it was time to close the Host Club.

"Mata ashita!" Whitney called to her friends as she walked out of the room with the twins and Haruhi.

The four friends walked out into the school's parking lot and hopped into the twins' limo. But instead of heading toward Haruhi or Whitney's house, the chauffeur began to drive them all to the Hitachiin estate.

"Um, you guys? Why are we driving to your house?" Whitney asked the two redheads across from her.

"_**We're going dress shopping." **_they answered like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What?"

"We started making dresses for the party." Hikaru said

"And we heard Hani-senpai asking you if you'd seen them yet." Kaoru continued.

"_**So we're bringing you over to find a dress."**_

"Okay. So why is Haruhi here? Did you kidnap her?" Whitney wondered aloud, thoroughly confused.

"Something like that." the twins grinned. Haruhi just sighed out the window.

"I'm here because these two wanted a 'girl's' opinion on how the dress looked. That and Tamaki didn't trust them to be alone with you."

"So he sent _you_?" Whitney questioned, incredulous.

"_Wow. I never thought Tamaki would willingly let Haruhi go with the twins."_ she thought

"Well, actually, he wanted to send Kyouya." Haruhi stated matter-of-factly. "I talked him into letting me go. Kyouya would just charge you for 'wasting his time'."

The four teens in the car laughed lightly at this, the brief ride to the Hitachiin estate being filled with jokes at Kyouya's expense.

The limo finally pulled up to a huge house that sprawled across a giant mass of land.

_**"Welcome to our house."**_ the twins said as the two girls just gawked.

"Rich people…" Haruhi muttered as she took in the entirely too large abode.

Whitney just stared.

"_I thought MY house was big. If I get lost in here, I won't be able to find my way out for months." _she thought.

"Come on, you two. You can stare at our house later." Hikaru said, sounding slightly impatient as the two girls snapped out of their trance.

The female hosts nodded and followed the two identical boys down a confusing maze of hallways until they reached a large room, overflowing with dresses.

Whitney's jaw dropped.

"Um…what is all of this?"

"_**These are the dresses we designed for the party." **_the twins answered indifferently

"Sorry that there is such a limited amount. We only had a week or so." Kaoru apologized politely.

"_**This **__is a limited amount?! I don't even want to know what would've happened if they'd had more time."_ she thought, the sight throwing her mind into craze mode.

"So, we're going to pick some for you to try on and then we're going to have a fashion show." Hikaru explained.

"There's a room to change in through that door." Kaoru said, pointing.

"_**When you're done, the catwalk is through that door."**_

"Ha ha. Catwalk. Good one, guys." she laughed

"_**What? We're being completely serious."**_ they informed her

She just looked at them.

"Am I expected to walk down it in heels?" she asked, sounding nervous.

"Yeah. Why?" Hikaru questioned suspiciously.

"Heels and me are a bad combination. I'll fall." she laughed.

"_**Don't worry, Whitney. You won't fall." **_they twins said.

"But if you do, I'll make sure Kaoru catches you." Hikaru joked as she and his twin blushed.

"How about you two stop teasing her and let her try on dresses. Some of us actually have things to do." Haruhi said.

The two redheads nodded and walked out of the room with Haruhi.

Whitney was drowning in dresses as she walked into the "dressing room" which looked oddly like a bedroom. She opened the first garment bag to reveal an ice blue dress with a knee length skirt. The bodice shimmered in the light and was very eye-catching. She put on the dress and the accompanying heels which were five inches tall and hard to walk in. She wobbled her way to the catwalk and attempted to walk down the stretch of floor in front of her, stopping to pose for her friends who were seated at the end.

"Took you long enough." Hikaru muttered at her.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked trying to be the best model she could be. She struck a very dramatic pose which was only graceful in her own mind.

"Well, first off, you should stop posing like that." Hikaru laughed.

"What's wrong with my posing?" She asked as she stood up straight, hand on her hip.

"There we go! Pose like that from now on." he instructed.

"Whit-chan. I would advise that you don't try and go into modeling." Kaoru suggested, trying his best to not offend the girl in front of him.

Whitney huffed a little before she turned her attention to Haruhi.

"Haruhi, do you have an opinion on the dress or are you going to follow these two doppelgangers' example and comment on my poor modeling?" she asked bitterly.

Haruhi thought for a moment and then turned her attention back to the girl in front of her.

"I don't like it." Haruhi replied bluntly.

"Hey! I take offense to that. I designed that one!" Hikaru said loudly.

Whitney just laughed at him.

"That's what you get for making fun of me." she chortled.

"No offense, Hikaru, but I agree with Haruhi. It doesn't look right on her." Kaoru said, looking over the girl in front of him.

"So I'm guessing that's a no on this one?" Whitney asked, hopefully. It was nothing against the dress. She had just hoped that her dress would be a little longer.

All three nodded at her.

"_**Go try on another one**_." the twins ordered.

Whitney took off the heels and walked back down the runway to the "dressing room" to choose a different gown. She put on the next one, a light yellow one this time.

"No, the yellow reminds me too much of the school uniform." Haruhi said.

"_**Yeah. Nobody wants to go to a party in that." **_the twins commented.

Whitney kept walking back and forth between the two rooms, trying on all of the dresses in the adjoining room until there was only one left. Every dress had been found to be flawed on her.

"_All of these are gorgeous but they've shot down every one. Maybe there's something wrong with me."_ She thought as she took out the final dress, gasping when it was unveiled. The gown was a deep crimson hue that rivaled even the most beautiful rose. It had short sleeves and slight beading on the top, nothing too over the top. The skirt was floor length and made of tulle, making it look slightly poofy. Out of all of the dresses she had tried on today, this was her absolute favorite.

Whitney put on the shoes that went with it, a pair of kitten heels.

"_Finally, some shoes I can walk in!"_

She took a deep breath and walked into the room.

"_I hope they like this one."_

As she walked down the catwalk, there was a collective gasp heard throughout the room.

She stopped at the end and waited with baited breath for the verdict. She was only met with silent stares.

"So…what do you think?" she asked, timidly.

Haruhi was the first to speak up.

"That is a really pretty dress, Whitney. I like this one a lot."

Whitney smiled a little, waiting for the twins to speak up.

Hikaru nodded his approval.

"Whitney-chan, if you don't wear that dress to the party, I will kill you." he said in all seriousness.

The raven-haired girl began to perk up a little.

"_Okay, that's two judges down. Only one more to go."_

Whitney turned and beamed at the only one who hadn't commented on her attire yet.

"So, Kaoru-kun, what do you think?" she asked, twirling so that the skirt flared out.

He just stared for a minute before giving his answer.

"You're…beautiful." Kaoru said breathily.

Whitney blushed a little, taken aback by his comment.

"W-what did you just say?" she asked, shocked.

"I mean, it's beautiful. The dress is beautiful." he corrected himself.

She smiled.

"Thank you. I love it! You both did such a good job!" she said, showing the twins her appreciation.

"Well, actually, it's Kaoru you should thank." Hikaru told her, smirking a little.

Whitney looked at him, confused.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" she questioned.

"What I'm talking about are his designing skills The two of us designed all of the dresses together except for two." Hikaru started to explain.

"We made a bet to see which one of us could design a better dress for you. Hikaru's was the light blue one that you tried on first." Kaoru continued.

"I'm still offended that you all hated it." Hikaru interjected.

The three other people in the room just ignored him.

"Anyways, Kaoru designed the one that you're wearing right now, Whit-chan." Hikaru finished.

Whitney just looked at the dress and then it's designer in awe, wondering how he ever managed to design her perfect dress.

"You're wondering how I came up with the design, aren't you?" Kaoru asked, looking somewhat embarrassed.

Whitney nodded her head.

"It's absolutely perfect, Kaoru-kun." she complimented him as she waited for his answer.

"Thank you." he accepted.

"So, how did you come up with this design?" she prodded.

"Sorry, Whit-chan, but I can't tell you that." and Kaoru said, smiling at her in a shy way.

"Would you excuse me for a moment?" he asked, standing up and walking out of the room.

Whitney stood on the runway, even more confused now than she had been earlier.

"Hikaru, if you don't mind, I'm going to leave, too. I've still got chores and homework to do." Haruhi said.

Hikaru nodded and called their chauffeur to take Haruhi home. She walked out of the room, leaving Whitney alone with Hikaru.

"Hey, Hikaru? Did I do something to upset your brother?" Whitney asked quietly.

"_I think I embarrassed him earlier. I shouldn't have asked where he got his inspiration from." _she reasoned in her head, mentally slapping herself for being so inconsiderate.

Hikaru just laughed.

"I think he'll live. He's just embarrassed because he thinks you'll be freaked out if he tells you that he dreamed about that dress." he stated nonchalantly.

"Huh?" She said, cocking her head to the side.

Hikaru hoisted himself onto the runway, sitting on the edge and motioning for her to sit next to him.

"Kaoru had a dream about the party and in it, you were wearing that dress." he said, motioning to her current wardrobe.

"When I woke up the next morning, he was already sketching it." he chuckled, reminiscing.

Whitney sat there, surprised.

"_Why would he be embarrassed? I've dreamt about my friends a bunch of times."_ she wondered.

She suddenly stood up, thankful for the low heels. The closer she was to the ground, the less likely she was to fall over.

"Um…Hikaru, if you don't mind, I'm going to go find Kaoru and apologize. Thank you so much for all the work you put into this." she said, hugging the boy in thanks and then exiting the room.

She walked out of the door, Hikaru left behind.

He shook his head as he got up to leave the room.

"_That girl is a piece of work."_ he thought, laughing in his head.

Whitney walked back into the "dressing room" and changed back into her school uniform before attempting to find Kaoru.

She walked out of the door and down the hallway, looking high and low for the redheaded twin.

"_If I were Kaoru, where would I be hiding from me?"_ she wondered to herself.

She opened many doors, all of them leading to empty, Kaoru-less rooms.

She kept up her search as she walked down a seemingly familiar hallway.

"_Haven't I been here before?" _she thought as she began to open doors. They were the same empty rooms that she'd checked over twenty minutes ago.

"_Ugh. Why didn't I have Hikaru help me? Now I'm lost in their house. And on top of that…it's getting dark." _the girl shuddered at the thought of the absence of light. She was afraid of many things, but the dark was very near to the top of that list.

She continued to wander around aimlessly, beginning to get antsy as the corridors became darker.

"Kaoru, where are you?" she called out.

All too soon, the sun had set and the hallway was entirely too dark for her tastes.

"Kaoru-kun!" she yelled, hoping that the boy would magically appear so that she could apologize and go home. But he was still nowhere to be found.

Whitney slid down a wall, sitting in a dark corner of wherever it was that she was at the moment. Tears began to roll down her face as the darkness settled in.

"_I'm never going to find my way out of this place." _she wept.

All the sudden, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist. She screamed as loud as she could.

"Hikaru! Kaoru! Help me!" she yelled, thrashing about in her assailant's arms.

A hand let go of her waist, covering her mouth.

"Shhh. It's me, Whitney-chan." came a voice from behind her.

She turned only to come face to face with Kaoru, blushing at how close he was to her.

"Whitney-chan, what are you still doing here?" he asked her. "And why were you screaming?"

She suddenly remembered that she had been looking for him and so she backed away from the boy and bowed.

"Sumimasen, Kaoru-kun."

He looked taken aback. But his shock softened into a smile as he laughed at the girl.

"Sorry for what? You don't have to apologize for anything."

"But I…made you feel embarrassed." she said, not sure what was going on in his head.

"It's alright, Whitney-chan. It wasn't as big of a deal as it seemed. There's no need to apologize." he reached out to find the girl in the dark.

"_Why didn't I turn on the lights?" _he thought to himself. _"That seems logical when you're in the dark."_

He finally found her and pulled her close to him.

"You still haven't answered my questions, though."

She nodded. She knew he couldn't see her, but she did it all the same.

"I'm still here because I was looking for you so I could apologize, Kaoru-kun. And…"she trailed off.

"And….?" he encouraged her to keep speaking.

"I can't tell you why I screamed." she said, frowning slightly.

"And why not?" he asked.

"Because you'll laugh at me." she pouted.

"Did you laugh when Hikaru told you about my dream?" he questioned.

She shook her head.

"No. But that was a normal thing. It's kind of disgraceful for a seventeen-year-old to be the way I am." she whispered.

"I promise I won't laugh, Whitney-chan." he said.

"Well, I'm…afraid of the dark." she mumbled.

He took her by the hand and began walking down the hallway.

"Kaoru-kun, what are you…?"

Suddenly, the hallway was illuminated, the darkness fading away.

"Stupid. Why didn't you just say so in the first place? I would've turned on the light for you." he smiled at her.

She just stood frozen.

"I didn't want you to think I was a baby." she replied softly.

"I would never think that of you." he said, his face inexplicably getting closer to hers.

They were inches apart when they were interrupted by a noise.

"Kaoru! Whitney! Where are you two?" Hikaru called out.

The two quickly jumped apart from each other.

"We're right here, Hikaru." Kaoru answered his twin.

"Whitney's car just arrived." Hikaru informed them.

The three friends walked out of the house and down to where Whitney's ride home waited.

"Thank you for everything you two have done for me." she said, grinning at her two friends.

They nodded their acknowledgment.

"_**No problem, Whitney-chan." **_they said.

"Oh, and Kaoru-kun? I'll keep your secret if you keep mine." she said, holding out her hand.

He grasped her hand and shook it.

"Okay, Whit-chan. It's a deal."

"Oyasuminasai." she yelled as she got into her car.

"**_Oyasuminasai."_** Hikaru and Kaoru answered.

And with that, she drove off into the dark night, thinking about the strange occurrences at the Hitachiin house.


	8. Pictures of Pandas

I'm sorry this took forever to put out *no excuse for this*. But Chapter 8 is finally out and I hope you like it!

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ouran High School Host Club, nor do I own the Hitachiin twins (specifically Kaoru). If I did, it would go a little differently. = P**

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The next day, the school was all abuzz with the excitement of the dance coming up. It was to be in a week, sending the unprepared girls into a frenzy. Even at the Host Club, Whitney couldn't escape the mindless chatter.

"Tamaki, what color dress should I wear?"

"Anything you wear will be gorgeous, my darling."he replied.

"Hani-senpai, are you bringing Usa-chan?"

"Of course! He wants to dance with you ladies, too." he chirped happily.

"Hitachiin-kun, will you save a dance for me?"

That one got her looked over to see a small blonde talking to Kaoru. The girl had no clue which twin she was talking to.

Kaoru nodded.

"Sure, Yuuki-chan. I will look forward to it." he said, smiling his host club smile at her.

Whitney froze for a bit. She was feeling...upset?

But why? There was no reason for her to feel that way. Then it hit her. She wasn't upset. She was jealous.

_"Why am I jealous of her?"_ she wondered, feeling the strange and new emotion crash over her like a wave.

**"It's because you don't want to share him."** came a reply.

Now she was scared.

"Who are you?"

**"Nice to meet you, too."** It replied sarcastically.** "I'm the inner you. Your innermost thoughts, dreams and desires."**

"I'm going crazy." Whitney sighed.

**"No, you're not. I've been here as long as you have been alive."**

"So, why did you wait until now to show yourself?" Whitney asked, irritated.

The inner Whitney laughed.

**"Because, quite frankly, hun, you bore me. You never do anything of interest to me. Or at least you didn't until now. I'll have to thank _Yuuki_ over there."** it sneered the blonde's name.

Whitney looked over in the girl's direction, a sharp, stabbing pain oming over her.

**"You see? You feel threatened by her."** It explained to the confused girl.

"But why? She hasn't done anything. It's not like he's my..."she trailed off.

**"You'll find out in good time."** it replied, fading away.

"But wait!" Whitney yelled at it.

"Whitney, who are you talking to?"

She turned to find Kyouya, who was looking at her like she had three sets of arms.

She scrambled to think of an explanation.

"Um...n-no one, Kyouya." she stuttered.

"Whitney, it would be better if you didn't scare our customers by becoming delusional during our club hours. Please try to save your outbursts for your own time." he said, walking away to go crunch numbers on his laptop.

"Sure, Kyouya. I'll just tell my delusions to go away until later."she replied, sarcastically. She walked over to a couch and began talking with some customers.

"Whitney-chan, what are you wearing to the dance?"

Whitney mulled over whether or not Kyouya would be annoyed that she divulged information. She decided he would be and went about trying to peak the girls' interest.

"It's a secret. I guess you'll have to go to the dance to find out." She said, adding a wink.

"Is it true that the Hitachiin brothers designed your dress?"

She figured that wouldn't be secret information, so she nodded.

"Yes. It's a Hitachiin dress."

"So, are they your dates?" Yuuki,the blonde girl from earlier asked.

Whitney blushed.

"N-no, of course not. That wouldn't be fair to you girls if I was selfish like that."

The blonde smirked.

"Good. Now I can ask them to escort me."

And with that, she flounced off.

Whitney's head started spinning.

**"You see? You want him..."**the voice mocked her.

"Oh,go away! I don't...I won't discuss this."

**"Even if I can help?"**

"Help what? Make me seem crazy?" Whitney hissed, continuing to tweak.

**"No. Help you get his attention. I guess you don't want it though, because you're snapping."**

Whitney thought it over in her head.

"Fine! It's a deal. Help me." she answered.

**"Alright! You know, you're a lot more fun when you let go and have some fun."**

And so, Whitney spent the rest of the afternoon formulating "Operation: Get Kaoru's Attention"

The next day, Whitney quietly tiptoed out of bed at five in the morning, against her better judgement, to prepare for her plan. She took a quick shower and then spent an hour on her hair, make-up and wardrobe. By the time she was done, she had on a lacey black top with a plaid skirt and matching black leggings. Her hair was pin straight, thanks to a fight with the flat iron. And for once, she'd put on make-up. She usually didn't because she found it to be a waste of time. But she was ready and she flounced out the door happily.

As she walked into class 2-A, she was nervous.

_"Why did I go along with this? I'm going to look so stupid."_

She pushed the door open and walked over to her desk,only to be blocked by Tamaki.

"Excuse me, Miss. But this is where my daughter, Whitney-chan, sits. I take it you must be new. I'm Tamaki Suoh. Why don't we-"

"Tamaki, that IS Whitney." Kyouya said boredly, barely looking up from the novel he was reading.

"Huh? This is NOT our daughter, Mommy." Tamaki said, looking at the girl in front of him.

"Tamaki. Shut up. Kyouya's right. It's me. Now, can I please get to my seat?" she asked.

_"I knew it! I overdid it."_ she thought.

"Whitney-chan!" Tamaki said, hugging her like he did every morning. She hugged the tall blonde and then sat down, while the teacher began the lesson.

Class went by at a pace slower than a snail's as she waited for the club to open with anticipation. The clock finally signaled the arrival of the end of classes and the raven girl was out of the room faster than the speed of light.

When she arrived in the Third Music Room, the other hosts had yet to show up. As she waited, her mind began to talk to her again.

**"Why am I picking up on nerves?"** it asked her.

"This...isn't going to work."

**"You need to have faith in me. You're fine. It will work. Just do what we planned."**

No sooner had it spoken, Kaoru walked in, Hikaru in tow.

"Hikaru. No. We're not accepting."

"Kaoru, Kyouya-senpai will kill us if we say no."

"Then why don't you go?"

"Well...I don't want to...There's another person I want to ask..."the older twin waffled. "Besides, I wouldn't have any fun if you weren't there, too."

Kaoru crossed his arms, being stubborn.

"So, you're saying 'If I'm miserable, you have to be, too'?"

Hikaru tried to think of a way around it, but couldn't.

"I don't know what to say, Kaoru."

"How about 'no'?"

They were finally distracted by a small 'ahem' from a girl who was sitting on the couch. They looked at her strangely.

_**"Um...excuse us, miss,but the Host Club isn't open yet."**_ they stated, wondering how she got in withouta key.

"Ha Ha. Stop joking." Whitney laughed, nervously.

_"Do I really look that different?"_ she wondered. _"Kyouya's the only one who recognized me."_

_**"Whitney?!?"**_ they asked, shocked.

She nodded.

Hikaru gave a low whistle.

"Wow...somebody got into their make-up bin this morning." he laughed.

"Does it look bad?" she asked.

_"Great. I look terrible! Nice plan, genius."_

"No...just different." Kaoru said, observing the girl in front of him. She did look pretty, but something about the entire situation was bothering him.

_"Why is she trying to dress up all the sudden?"_

"Any reason for the get up, Whit?" he heard Hikaru ask, as if he had read his mind.

Whitney blushed.

"N-no,Hikaru. No special r-reason."

In all of her nervousness, she had reverted back to stuttering as two unforgiving citrine gazes bore into her.

Twin smirks appeared on their faces.

"Oh, really? Your behavior tells us..."

"...that you're lying."

_**"Why?"**_

She scrambled for an answer but, upon finding none, decided to scuttle over to the dressing room to change into her costume. Today, they were all dressing up as each other's favorite animals. The idea was to feature a guessing game as to which animal was each host's favorite.

She opened her costuem bag, confused when she came face to face with a panda costume.

She walked out to find Hikaru.

"Hikaru? Why am I my own animal?" she asked him, zipping up the back of the Panda outfit.

"Huh? You're not. Did you check the list?" he asked, his smile becoming slightly mischievous.

She shook her head.

He dragged her back to the dressing room to show her a list that was hanging next to everyone's costumes.

*Note: These were chosen at random by H. Hitachiin.*

Whitney rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Random my behind."

She began to scan the list.

Name Animal Corresponding Host

Hani: Dog Tamaki

Haruhi: Rabbit Hani

Hikaru: Racoon Haruhi

Kaoru: Panda Whitney

Kyouya: Bear Mori

Mori: Jaguar Kyouya

Tamaki: Goldfish Hikaru

Whitney: Panda Kaoru

Whitney finished reading the list and went to leave the room when it hit her.

"Hikaru, what did you do?" She asked him, dangerously.

He just smiled.

"I told you all I chose it randomly."

"Right. So Haruhi ended up in a bunny costume, you ended up with her animal, Tamaki ended up a goldfish and Kaoru and I get to be twins for a day due to randomness? I think you're stretching the truth a little, hun." She said, doubting the veracity of the ginger's statement.

He just shrugged, leaving her stanging in a panda suit.

As the other hosts began to arrive and change into theircostumes, Whitney couldn't help but laugh at some of them. She snuck over to her bag and pulled out a camera secretly taking pictures of her friends. She figured if she got caught, she'd bribe Kyouya with the prospect of a new photobook for the host club. She hid behind the couch, snapping photos, especially of Tamaki. His costume consisted of a very shiny orange leotard-like top with matching orange pants and a flowy orange gauze attached to the back to look like fins. She couldn't help but giggle everytime she saw him and she would be darned if it wasn't documented.

_"This is soooo going on my Facebook."_she thought.

"Whatcha got there?" came a voice from her right side.

She turned to find Kaoru, looking over her shoulder at her camera.

She handed him the camera, and he began to flip through the pictures she'd taken, laughing at the ones of Tamaki and pausing on a picture she'd taken of Haruhi and were hugging in it, which looked odd because Hikaru was wearing a racoon costume that looked like it belonged at a children's party. Nevertheless, the expression he had was almost sweet, holding a loving look that was rare for Hikaru. Haruhi looked clueless,but happy in her cute rabbit outfit. The leotard, while modest, fit her well, the tail being fluffy and oversized. All in all, it was probably Whitney's favorite picture she'd taken today.

"His world is expanding." Kaoru whispered softly.

His expression was bittersweet, unsure of whether to be happy for his brother or to be sad that he was being left behind. Thinking quickly, Whitney grabbed the camera and snapped a picture of him to get his attention.

"Hey!" he said, wondering what she was doing.

"Smile, Panda-kun."she said, taking another photo of him.

He flashed a grin and gave her a peace sign.

She kept snapping pictures and he kept posing until they were laughing too hard to continue with their little photoshoot.

"That was fun" she said through a giggle.

He nodded.

"Yeah, it was." After a little silence, he suddenly grabbed the camera.

"Hey! We didn't take one of you." he said, snapping it while she was still laughing.

When she stopped chuckling, she took her camera back, holding the camera above them.

"How about we take one together?" she asked,grinning at him.

He nodded, putting bunny ears behind her head as the camera flashed.

She smiled at the photo before her.

"I think this one is my favorite, Kaoru-kun." as she stared at the camera's screen.

They looked like two baby pandas playing.

"Let me see." he said, looking over the picture.

"You know what? Me, too."

She got up from behind the couch, helping him up.

They had to go get ready to open the Host Club up.

As she walked away, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"Hey, Whitney-chan? You never told us why you made your make-up bin explode this morning." he smirked.

She blushed.

"O-oh,um...it's nothing, Kaoru-kun.I just...decided to change my look a little."

She tried to smile, but it came off like a nervous wince.

He let go of her wrist.

"You know,Whit-chan, you don't have to lie to me." he said in a patient manner as he walked to the door to stand by his brother.

She slowly shuffled to the door.

_"I'm never listening to my inner-self again."_ she resolved,taking her place between the two.

"Iraishimase."


	9. The Big Dance

A/N: I'm back! I apologize for the delay in this chapter. A lot of ups and downs have happened with this story. I want to thank everyone who's been involved with it, as well as to the fans who wrote me and asked me to continue with it. I love this story and I'm so glad to be back to writing it. Without further ado, Chapter 9! Reviews are welcome! P.S. Majoy spoiler alert in the disclaimer. Feel free to skip it.

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN OURAN HIGH SCHOOL HOST CLUB NOR DO I OWN THE HITACHIIN TWINS. If I did, OHSHC would never be over and the story would continue on in Boston -_-"**

It was seven thirty as Whitney slid the final bobby pin into her hair, pulling it back into a sleek side-bun

"Perfect" she said, smiling at her reflection.

A car horn beeped outside, and the girl walked briskly across her driveway to the waiting limo, gracefully sliding into the backseat. She was careful not to ruin the dress the Hitachiins had so lovingly created.. She greeted the two boys as she settled into the car.

"Good evening, boys," she greeted them quietly. She still could not believe she was going to this dance. She had been practicing, but she was still worried about making mistakes.

**_"Good evening, Whitney,"_** they replied together.

As the car started towards Ouran Academy, Whitney couldn't help but notice how handsome the twins looked. They were wearing matching white tuxedos, the coattails of which were fairly long and formal looking. Their outfits were completed by, and red ties that matched the hue of her dress.

"Whit-chan, it's impolite to stare like that," Kaoru whispered into her ear, the unexpected comment causing her to jump a mile in the air from the unexpected comment and hit her head on the roof of the car.

"Ow…I'm sorry, you two," she mumbled, blushing and rubbing her head. "It's just…you both look very handsome tonight. I didn't mean to stare."

The twins chuckled lightly.

"It's ok, Whit-chan. We're used to it," Hikaru laughed, brushing it off.

"Besides, it wasn't like we didn't stare at you, too,"Kaoru continued.

"You look very pretty tonight," they finished in unison.

The limo slowly rolled to a stop in front of the school, the door was opened for them and the three friends climbed out. As they entered the building, each of the brothers took hold of one of the elder female's arms, linking them with one of their own.

"Ready, Whit-chan?" Kaoru asked her politely.

She nodded.

"Good. Let's go, then," Hikaru grinned widely and they all walked toward the grand ballroom of Ouran Academy together.

The ballroom glittered as they came through the doors. There was a small chamber orchestra playing in the corner, filling the hall with soft music. As they walked up the stairs towards the other hosts, Whitney looked down, privately comparing the dance floor to a kaleidoscope. The girls waltzing around the floor were wearing dresses of many different colors, skirts gracefully spinning around, almost looking like they were part of the decoration.

"Ah, Whitney, Hikaru, Kaoru. You finally made it," Kyouya greeted them, writing something into his little black book. He looked very polished, wearing a dark tuxedo that perfectly fit his personality. It was almost seemed a little darker than a typical tux would be.

_"I wonder what he's writing about,"_ Whitney thought, watching him quietly.

"Yay! Whit-chan is here. And she looks so cute!" Hani exclaimed, jumping around the room. Whitney laughed.

"And so do you, Hani-senpai." she smiled at the small senior. He was wearing a white tuxedo was white with a red harlequin print vest underneath. All in all, he reminded her a little of the a human version of the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland.

"Thank you!" he said, beaming up at her, then before turning to flash a thumbs up at the twins. "Good job, you two."

They nodded in acknowledgment as Mori appeared silently behind Hani, wearing a matching tuxedo that seemed a little out of place on the taller boy.

"Whitney!" came an exclamation behind them. She was suddenly found herself being hugged by her blonde classmate. He was wearing a white tuxedo with a pink vest underneath., which The outfit looked a little flamboyant, but that was just his overall usual style.

"Tamaki, you're squishing me," she breathed out, pushing him off her gently.

"Whitney, you look adorable. Haruhi! Why won't you let Daddy dress you like this? You would look so cute!" he cried as he continued in his daydreams of Haruhi having a more feminine fashion sense.

"I have no interest in dressing like that, senpai. Besides, it would confuse everyone if I was suddenly a girl," Haruhi stated matter-of-factly, walking over to where the rest of the hosts were. She was wearing a brown suit, that which looked nice, but looked like it might have seen better days. There were matching patches on the elbows of the jacket and she wore a green vest underneath.

"Haruhi! That is not the suit Daddy gave you!" Tamaki bemoaned, upset that she would wear something so common looking.

"There was no need for that fancy tuxedo. Besides, Kyouya would've charged me for it," she said, grimacing at the thought of spilling something and owing the Shadow King more money.

The clock struck eight o'clock and Kyouya motioned for them to line up on the staircase, Tamaki in the middle with Kyouya, Haruhi, Hani and Mori on his left and Whitney, Kaoru and Hikaru on his right.

"Good evening, ladies. The Ouran Host Club welcomes you!" Tamaki greeted their guests as they applauded.

"Tonight, we are here for your entertainment. So we hope that you enjoy yourselves," Kyouya finished, signaling for the orchestra to begin the music again, as the hosts broke away to join the young ladies in attendance.

Whitney made her way down the stairs, careful to not to trip on her skirt, and walked onto the dance floor. She watched the hosts waltzing with their customers, the smile on each girl's face growing wide as she was twirled around the floor by her favorite host. Occasionally, a boy who had attended would shyly approach her and ask her to dance. So far, she'd escaped unscathed, making no social faux-pas nor falling on her face. At the moment, she was standing against a wall, people watching. The orchestra was beginning one of her favorite pieces.

"May I have this dance, Whit-chan?" she heard to her right, as she swiveled her head to face Kaoru, whose hand was extended towards her.

She smiled at him.

"Of course, Kaoru-kun. I would love that," she replied, taking his hand.

Just as her hand made contact with his, a blonde girl walked in between the two of them, knocking them apart.

"Oh, excuse me. I'm so clumsy. I hope I didn't hurt you," she apologized in a tone that suggested it wasn't entirely an accident.

"Good evening, Yuuki," both the host and hostess said politely.

_"Great. She's going to ruin everything,"_ Whitney thought, feelings of jealousy rising within her and stirring her subconscious.

**"I'm beginning to hate this girl. She's giving me a workout,"** her inner-self agreed.

"And now she's making my mind go crazy again. Fantastic," Whitney muttered sarcastically.

"What was that, Whitney?" Yuuki asked in a snide tone.

**"Way to say it aloud, genius."**

"Oh, um…nothing, Yuuki. Just that this piece is beautiful," Whitney responded, trying to recover from her blunder.

"That it is. In fact, I was going to ask Hitachiin-kun to dance with me. If that's okay with you, of course," the girl asked her, her voice dripping with false innocence.

"Well, actually, Yuuki-chan, I was asking Whitney if she-" Kaoru began.

"-thought it was a good idea to ask you to dance," Whitney said, bowing out of her way.

"Whitney-chan…" Kaoru began to protest.

"Kaoru-kun, Yuuki-hime wants to dance with you. It is our job as hosts to make every girl happy," she said quietly in an almost melancholic tone.

"Every girl, that is, except me."

Yuuki smiled and grabbed Kaoru's hand.

"Shall we then, Hitachiin-kun?" she asked, beaming in her victory.

Kaoru gave one last look at Whitney who was smiling, hoping she looked encouraging instead of disappointed, and slowly took Yuuki's hand.

As they walked away, Yuuki turned around to face Whitney.

'I win' she mouthed.

Whitney watched as they walked away, filled with sadness, but knowing she did the right thing.

"Whit-chan, will you dance with me?" Hani asked in his cute way, looking up at her with his large, brown eyes

She smiled, unable to stay upset when the pygmy-sized senior was around.

"Sure, Hani-senpai." she said, taking his tiny hand in hers and letting him lead her across the dance floor.

"I saw that, Whit-chan. I'm sorry she upset you like that," Hani said, trying to comfort her.

The taller girl smiled at her friend.

"Thank you, Hani-senpai, but I'll be alright."

The two continued to waltz around the dance floor gracefully, talking about nothing and everything.

"Whit-chan, I have to tell you something," Hani finally stated.

"Okay, senpai." Whitney responded, allowing him to lead her off the floor and onto the balcony attached to the school's ballroom. When they were finally somewhere quiet, the tiny blonde began his speech.

"I wanted to say that I'm glad that you and Kao-chan have become such good friends. I've known Hika-chan and Kao-chan since they were in pre-school and they've never really reached out to others until they started as hosts. And even then, it was hard for them to come out of their shells. I've wanted to see them happy for a long time," he started, looking thoughtful and concerned.

She waited for the smaller boy to continue.

"But the twins are very possessive of their friends. They mean well, but it isn't very hard to hurt their feelings and make them go back to blocking everyone out. So please be careful with Kao-chan, ok?" he finished, patting her hand and smiling cutely.

Whitney was quiet for a minute before nodding at him.

"You're a good friend, senpai, for looking out for them like that,." she said, returning his smile as they went back to the dance.

As they re-entered the building, they saw an upset looking Kaoru and a ticked looking Yuuki heading off the floor. A short conversation followed and they witnessed Yuuki slap the redheaded host before she stormed off. Whitney and Hani exchanged looks of shock and then hurried over towards Kaoru.

"Kao-chan, are you alright?" Hani asked him.

Kaoru nodded.

"What happened, Kaoru-kun?" Whitney asked, looking in horror at the bright red handprint splayed across his cheek. There was a short pause before he responded.

"She asked me to be her boyfriend. I told her no and then she told me I was making a big mistake,." he whispered softly, laughing at the end. "She couldn't even tell whether she was dancing with me or Hikaru."

"Let's go get you some ice for that." Whitney said, taking his hand and walking towards the kitchen.

The two friends made their way into the large dining area of the school, running into Hikaru, who was eating a banana.

"Hikaru! You're supposed to be in there entertaining the guests!" Kaoru scolded his brother.

"I was hungry!" Hikaru defended himself, mouth full as he finished his fruit and tossed the peel on the floor. Whitney noticed an arrow flashing at the peel for a second, but the twins were too busy semi-arguing to see it.

"You couldn't find something to eat on that entire table of food to eat?" Kaoru asked, incredulous.

"There weren't bananas out there!" Hikaru replied.

"Whatever, Hikaru." Kaoru said, rolling his eyes at his twin in a playful fashion.

Hikaru moved to leave the kitchen, before he noticed his twin's cheek.

"Kaoru! What happened to you?" he asked, pushing Whitney as Hikaru left the kitchen. out of the way to inspect the wound. "Who did this to you?"

"Hikaru, I'm fine! Honestly. One of the girls couldn't tell us apart, asked me out and I said no. That's all."

Hikaru was too busy overreacting to hear what Kaoru was saying. He ran around, yelling about finding which guest it was and banning her from the club, and trying to find a band-aid.

"Hikaru, none of those things are important right now," Kaoru said, trying to calm his twin down. He grabbed Hikaru by the arm and pulled him aside.

"Can you get out of here? Whitney's got it," Kaoru pleaded with his twin.

Hikaru smirked a little, but composed himself to whisper back, "Whatever you say, Kaoru. I'll let you have alone time with your plaything." He winked at his twin as he walked out of the kitchen.

Just then, Whitney brought over an ice pack, gently touching it to Kaoru's face.

"Here. This should help." She gently pressed it into his cheek.

Kaoru blushed lightly, but not enough that Whitney noticed.

"Thanks, Whit-chan," he said, taking the ice pack from her and holding it against his sore face.

"No problem," she replied.

They sat like that for a few minutes while the sting wore off from the handprint before deciding that they should head back. They helped each other up and held hands as they walked back.

"Ah!" Whitney exclaimed as she slipped on the banana peel Hikaru had so carelessly thrown on the ground. Kaoru spun around and caught her, getting knocked to the floor in the process.

Whitney opened her eyes, knowing the impact was over and blushed immediately after she had. The way she had fallen had her on top of Kaoru, their lips firmly touching. She got off of him as quick as possible and helped him up.

"Kaoru-kun, I…I…" she couldn't even finish the sentence.

Kaoru's face flushed and he averted his eyes.

"It's ok…it was an accident,." he said, rubbing his hand against his neck.

"Um…we…should get back to the party…" Whitney stammered.

"Yeah…right,." he agreed and brushed himself off.

They started down the hall towards the party, walking faster than normal.

_"Wow…that was awkward. We just kissed."_ she thought, gently touching her fingertips to her mouth. She was overcome with a strange, tingly feeling.

**"Love,"** her inner-self explained.

"Is it?" she whispered to herself, a little skeptical of her judgment for having jumped to that emotion. Was she really in love with the mischievous redhead?

As they re-emerged in the ballroom, Tamaki got on the microphone.

"Ladies and gentleman, this is the last waltz of the night. I sincerely hope that you had a wonderful time with us!" he said formally.

A slow waltz began and Kaoru turned to Whitney.

"You know, I never got my dance with you. Shall we?" he asked her.

She smiled sweetly.

"Of course, Kaoru-kun," she answered as he led her to the middle of the dance floor. He pulled her close to him, putting her into waltzing position, as they began to spin around the room.

As the pair began to dance, the others around them stopped to watch, their movements strangely graceful. The guests began to murmur as they watched them.

"Whit-chan, you're a wonderful dancer," Kaoru commended her, quietly. "You've gotten so much better."

The girl bowed her head, hoping he wouldn't see the blush creeping across her face.

"Thank you, Kaoru-kun. You are a wonderful dancer, as well."

He pulled her a little closer, forcing her to look up at him. He grinned down at her warmly.

"I thought I taught you not to look at your feet."

She giggled slightly.

"Gomenasai, Kaoru-kun."

They continued their dance, becoming wrapped up in it and each other, not noticing the growing group of onlookers. It was like they were caught in a trance. The only thing that mattered was each other, not that they knew the other was thinking the same thing.

The song finally ended and they stopped, the spell being broken by applause as they finally noticed they were the only ones still on the floors. They both blushed, but walked off the floor and watched the guests exit the ballroom.

Haruhi volunteered to clean up after the party, so the twins and Whitney were "helping" her, playing games of garbage basketball and running mop races, generally making more of a mess for the poor brunette girl left in their wake. After saying goodbye to Haruhi, they all slid into the limo, the twins sitting on opposite sides of the long, black car.

The ride home was quiet, an unknown tension building between Hikaru and the other two hosts in the car.

They pulled up to her house, the car slowing to a halt. She hugged each boy and then slid out of the vehicle.

"Goodnight, Hikaru. Goodnight, Kaoru-kun," She said, smiling at them.

_**"Goodnight, Whitney,"**_ they replied.

She trudged sleepily up the stairs to her room and changed into pajamas, flopping onto her bed.

_"Best night ever,"_ she thought as she drifted off to sleep.


End file.
